Thursday’s Headlines
Reason number 4,812 why AOC is awesome: New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wants to force municipalities to reduce parking and encourage going carless by withholding federal transportation money from anyplace that requires on-site parking at housing developments. (Sightline) The return on investment for creating a walking and biking transportation network could be as high as … Continued
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EDT on October 17, 2019
- Reason number 4,812 why AOC is awesome: New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wants to force municipalities to reduce parking and encourage going carless by withholding federal transportation money from anyplace that requires on-site parking at housing developments. (Sightline)
- The return on investment for creating a walking and biking transportation network could be as high as $138 billion nationwide, according to a Rails-to-Trails Conservancy study. Shifting modes would result in less congestion, reduce congestion and improve health.
- Uber and Lyft skipped a hearing before a House of Representatives committee investigating issues in the ride-hailing industry. (Reuters)
- After years of predictions that car-sharing and ride-hailing companies would end the need for privately owned cars, car ownership is up over the past decade, probably because the recession is over and gas prices are low (Wired). In Denver, car-share company Car2Go is pulling out, which Denverite expects to increase congestion as users either buy personal vehicles or turn to Uber and Lyft.
- File under: Oh really? Scooter riders who ride on the sidewalk do it because they’re afraid of cars (Salt Lake Tribune). In related news, bike riders are eschewing pavement altogether, instead migrating to dirt trails (Outside)
- A solution to sidewalk clutter? San Francisco startup Tortoise is developing a scooter that can drive itself to an appropriate parking location (Axios). As longtime Georgia bike advocate Jason Perry says on Twitter, they can’t possibly drive themselves any worse than humans do.
- Washington, D.C. is creating more separated bike lanes and installing speed bumps to slow down drivers. (WTOP)
- Austin’s Capital Metro is considering creating five new bus rapid transit lines. Ridership on existing BRT is up 14 percent. (Monitor)
- Lack of trust in local government could endanger a transit tax in the metro Atlanta county of DeKalb. (Saporta Report)
- The mother of a Cincinnati girl who was killed by a hit-and-run driver says she won’t rest until the city achieves Vision Zero. (WCPO)
- For the first time in decades, more University of Arkansas students, faculty and staff are walking, biking or taking transit to campus instead of driving.
- New Jersey is getting four nice new transit stations where, as Bloomberg cheekily notes, riders can wait out long and frequent delays.
Blake Aued has been doing Streetsblog's daily national news digest for years. He's also an Atlanta Braves fan, which enrages his editor in New York.
Read More:
Streetsblog has migrated to a new comment system. New commenters can register directly in the comments section of any article. Returning commenters: your previous comments and display name have been preserved, but you'll need to reclaim your account by clicking "Forgot your password?" on the sign-in form, entering your email, and following the verification link to set a new password — this is required because passwords could not be carried over during the migration. For questions, contact tips@streetsblog.org.
More from Streetsblog USA
This Doomsday Law Could Stop Trains Across America In A Matter of Weeks
Arbitrary insurance requirements set by Congress could easily kill commuter rail in the United States.
May 4, 2026
Monday’s Headlines Load Up the Kids
Cargo e-bikes can do a lot of things cars can do for a lot less money.
May 4, 2026
Santa Monica Kicks Off Bike Month By Starting Automated Bike Lane Enforcement
State's first AI bike lane enforcement goes live.
May 1, 2026
Friday Video: Take Transit to the World Cup … If You Can Afford It
Why are some cities forced to charge high fares to World Cup visitors who want to take the train, while others are giving away rides nearly for free?
May 1, 2026
Good Public Transit + Good Public Funding = Good Public Health
Transit agencies need to do more to remind policy makers of the connection between good public transportation and good public health, a report argues.
May 1, 2026